In Mumbai, the municipal corporation has deployed a sewer cleaning robot to get rid of manual scavenging.
The civic body has decided to use robots to clean the clogged sewers in the city instead of using the labourers.
There have been incidents of suffocation of workers while cleaning the sewers in various civic bodies. In order to avoid such a situation, the civic body has decided to use robots to clean the manholes.
After the use of robots the citizens will get some relief from the blocked sewers.
As the capacity of the underground sewers is exhausted, the sewers are blocked at many places and sewage can be seen flowing on the streets, the robots can perform the task of cleaning in a shorter time.
In Maharashtra, 21 out of 36 districts are yet to declare themselves manual scavenging free.
As the central government's deadline to declare India manual scavenging free nears, about 246 districts of the country are yet to declare themselves free from the inhuman practice, according to officials.
According to government data, out of 766 districts, as many as 520 districts have declared themselves manual scavenging free, while 246 districts are yet to submit the report.
"I would request the states concerned to submit a report to us as we are committed to our vision of declaring India manual scavenging free by August 2023," a senior official with the Union ministry of social justice and empowerment said.
The states/district collectors and district magistrate have been reminded 20 times so far to submit the report, the ministry said.
In Madhya Pradesh, 35 out of 52 districts have not submitted the report.
(With inputs from agencies)
